vs Cherry Blossoms
by regaul
Summary: Sakura finds herself collapsing under the pressures of her new path as a founder of her own specialized clinic. Eventually, an unusual ninja makes her reexamine her values, motivations, and devotion to Sasuke. She sets out on a trip of her own to find herself and to better understand what she wants in life. Sasusaku after the war.
1. Chapter 1: Intruder

**Author's Notes:**

This is my very first official fanfic, so I'm still getting used to the format.

Also, I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors or Narutoverse inconsistencies.

I did include an OC here, but I'm using him to assist with story-telling so he won't be taking up space

in later chapters. Thank you!

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Intruder**

A beautiful man in his early thirties was sitting opposite of Sakura, drinking a hot cup of tea. Everything about him was elegant and precise as if a forest spirit has graced her with a visit. He had long brown hair, neatly tied back, and wore a well-fitting traditional garment. His gaze was busy with a long letter. Sakura sat nervously, trying to hide her anticipation. The man noticed that, deciding to spend extra time going over each word, trying to not let it show that he, in fact, read the letter several months prior her follow-up visit.

"So, um... Komatsu-san.." insinuated the kunoichi, noticing him folding the letter over. As much as the rumors of this man's avoidant nature and motivation issues put her on guard, she needed to get this over with. This man could potentially save her life. She took a deep breath to loosen herself up and finally fired up her determination.

"And you must be Sakura-san?" wondered the man, already knowing the answer.

"Yes."

"Oh my, I heard so much about you. The blossom of Konoha - as strong a healer as she is a fighter. This is truly an honor," recited Komatsu, with a playful smirk. Sakura clearly understood that this was an attempt to derail the conversation from the topic at hand. She politely smiled back at him, without indulging in a frivolous complement exchange; however, she could think of many about him. This man was an extremely talented medical ninja, that made advancements in psychotherapy. A man who is able to read people accurately, and administer the best course of action. He could save her from the mess she got herself into. Starting up a clinic focused on helping kids with never ending psychological issues was a noble cause, but it was driving the woman into the ground. She was swamped day and night, with a mountain of paperwork, constant complaints, and meetings. She could feel herself suffering side effects of overwork. It became harder to hide her dark eye circles with makeup. Her hair was thinning. She was losing chakra.

"Ah, thank you. Those are merely exaggerations. I do strive to help as many people as I can, though. Which is why I am here," continued Sakura, artfully bending the polite conversation to her whim. She heard the man sigh with disappointment, as he understood that Sakura was the real deal. His expression became a little less cheerful. "So, what do you think?"

"Are you offering me employment?" asked Komatsu, suddenly turning to Sakura. Finally facing him, Sakura noticed him studying her face, and gestures. She suddenly felt uncomfortable. It was as if he was touching her while being two feet away.

"I am offering you a chance to help me run an institution. I believe you always wanted a quite facility to conduct research. I promise you would be compensated in full! There is just so much, that to do, I don't think I could do it without your help." confessed Sakura, trying to distance herself from her plea. Begging like this, she thought she was close to tears. Her psychotherapy department was very large, with a multitude of different professionals - and many different methods. She celebrated the days without verbal or physical confrontations. Multiple complaints were filed directly to her, each demanding her picking a side - an executive duty she couldn't handle all by herself. Especially without an in-depth understanding of psychology, and an educated moral compass. This was her duty to the village, looking from the outside at the suffering of her friends, unable to help. But now, she could. And it only took Ino weeks and weeks of begging Sakura to finally come to her senses, and ask for help. And now she's here, in a town on the outskirts of Konoha, trying to enlist a man whose avoidance was more famous than his talent. "Just a little bit more," she told herself.

"Excuse me," politely gestured the man as he finished the rest of his tea, and got up to put away his cup. The woman rested her head in her hands. She found it extremely difficult to focus whenever she did not have mountains of paperwork in front of her. Her mind would always wander. She couldn't help but want to repress certain thoughts and emotions. She was in charge now, so she needed to act that way. But now, she found herself replaying that memory. 'I'll see you soon...' Sakura got up from the table, deciding to bring her cup to the kitchen as well. The rusty room was left slightly ajar, so she could hear bits of conversation.

"This is a great opportunity for you, Kei. I don't see why not?" wondered a weary man's voice.

"Uncle, this is all extremely risky. And my boss would be a child," stated Komatsu.

"Didn't you say that she trained under lady Tsunade?"

"Battle strength is not the same as experience."

"Besides, I can clearly see her mental state. I don't want to work under someone who lacks conviction and emotional stability."

"You've got a point," concluded the elder. Sakura turned back. She sat back at the table, in somewhat of a shock. 'Me - unstable? What would he even know about me? What a pretentious little-' Sakura felt the smooth concrete of the wall to her right, against her fist. A deep indent was formed with cracks spreading in every direction, with a symphony of popping and trembling. Soon the small, two-story cottage was replaced with piles of rubble and steam. Sakura grabbed her miraculously unscathed bag and started to walk away, ignoring the onlookers wondering how a random house could collapse out of nowhere. She was through with these games. As intelligent as she was, conversations that resembled a game of chess were not her strong suit. Letting out steam by punching a nearby tree, she finally managed to calm down. With chilly air, came a sense of cold emptiness, and melancholy. She was confused.

* * *

"Thank you so much, Lee-san," said Sakura, receiving a cup of coffee with a large bag of miscellaneous snacks. The guy clearly did not know what she liked. She failed to hide the fact that she fell asleep at her desk, yesterday night. Her hair now mimicked her father's eccentric cut, while still being recognizable as a bedhead. Her face looked pale while featuring ink stains. In her disorientation, she dropped the bag on the floor, and almost did so with the coffee. Lee immediately caught it mid-fall and positioned the provisions on her desk.

"No problem! Always ready to help!" exclaimed the goofy guy, with his signature smile. She saw him exit her office, the same way he entered - by making a very showy jump, even by shinobi standards. She closed her window and leaned back in her chair while looking at the ceiling. The room was large, almost the size of Rokudaime's, but way more filled. There were shelves on both sides, filled to the brim, as well as multiple potted plants. Both on top, and around her desk were mountains of paperwork. While spinning in her chair, she almost knocked over her heater. Suddenly, she noticed the clock. '12:30, huh' She realized at this point, that she wasted hours sleeping, but she couldn't bring herself to start any of her work. Finally, deciding to honor her coffee, she began to slowly wake up. Rummaging in the plastic bag, she found dango, bread rolls, chips, onigiri, and some candy. 'Oh Lee. You shouldn't have. That damn Ino, going around telling people I can't handle it!' She wanted to prove everyone she could. She wasn't a helpless little girl anymore. She wanted to prove to them, and the whole world. And even to…

"Sakura-san!" pleaded someone, suddenly bursting into her office. Sakura was stretching, and this genuinely startled her. She quickly informed the gravity of the situation, by the medical ninja's white uniform. The man was in a state of panic compared to Sakura's calm composure. The clinic still went to her in cases of extreme emergencies, but they never turned out to be anything Sakura couldn't handle. She put on her jacket and rushed alongside the anxious ninja. It was a few blocks from her facility. She neglected to appreciate the beauty of the ever-busy Konoha, this time as well.

* * *

"Amazing! To be able to perform such an unheard of procedure!" began a man on the other end of the hospital lounge.

"I was holding my breath. Such finesse. Say, senpai, do you know if, you know?" asked the other ninja, wondering about Sakura's availability.

"Back off," replied the older guy. Both of them proceeded to laugh it off. Sakura didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult, but she was too exhausted to entertain that thought any further. As impressive as the procedure might have looked like, it was a close call. And that was not even including Sakura's abused sleep cycle. She had never seen such an abomination of a case. Three unconscious ninja were found spliced together after missing from a lengthy mission. Not only that, besides them being conjoined in several odd locations, but Sakura found that their chakra networks were tangled up. Not only was this an extremely improbably by medical standards, the chakra points were overacting. These ninja were in a collective coma, as their bodies were quickly rejecting the other two's presence. They were not even well matched in terms of blood type. The needed to be separated as possible. To conduct this procedure she needed an extreme amount of focus, precision, and chakra. But nevertheless, she did it. After putting the obscurity in her notes, she decided to take a small break in the lounge. The busyness and cleanliness of the clinic were a welcomed change of pace, compared to her lonely office, where the only companion she faced fo hours, was the mound of looming deadlines. 'We all pay a price for success I suppose.'

"Sakura-Senpai." called a nurse. Sakura remembered her face. This girl used to follow her around everywhere, always pestering and distracting her from her work. Now, she was more than happy to see her. Her innocent face reminded her of her own back in the day. "There's someone here to see you!"

"Who is it?" wondered Sakura without any particular curiosity.

"I don't know. But he's a major cutie. Those sharp eyes. I think I've seen him somewhere before." began the girl. Sakura's heart jumped. 'Could it be? No way. But then what other cutie would come all the way here to see me?' She didn't reply to the girl, and went toward the lobby, a sense of anticipation and hope made her step quicker. She was desperate.

"Oh, it's just you," harshly noticed Sakura with intense disappointment. It was the very same man who she was trying to recruit a few days ago. Komatsu Kei. After the fiasco, she no longer regarded him as a candidate for assistance, now loathing him for not being Sasuke. She got depressed. 'I'm such an idiot, what could he possibly want with me, now of all times, when he's clearly off god knows where' "What do you want"

"I'm here to reconsider," announced Komatsu, with a fake smile. His face was decorated by scrapes he likely got from the collapse.

"Huh?"

"You did break my house after all."


	2. Chapter 2: Weakness

**Chapter 2: Weakness**

Sasuke was never that into art, but this image made him feel very restless. In front of him, was a woman, with long, pink hair and empathic green eyes. She was setting up medical equipment on the desk near him, trying her best not to wake him up. In his vision, she looked ethereal, as the morning light was drowning the backdrop behind her. He wanted to look away, yet his eyes kept studying her face. He wanted more. More of her. It was a feeling that never got the chance to turn into thought. But now, since his mind was free of hatred, he was getting close. That faint warmth he felt as a teen, was now exposed, and unyielding. He watched her fidget with the equipment some more. Once done, she was about to leave into another room, when Sasuke decided to grab her wrist. Her hands were cold.

"Huh?! W-what are you doin- You were awake?" stuttered the kunoichi, a little flustered. She tried to avoid his gaze. "What is it?"

"What's the situation?" calmly asked Sasuke, without letting her go. Their eyes met again, both feeling the other's intensity.

"You're at the hospital. We're treating you. You've been out for a couple of days since you lost so much blood," she reported, finally freeing her wrist. She saw him nod, as he looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought.

"Where is he?" asked the patient.

"In another room. He's doing well," answered Sakura, with a sweet smile. She was genuinely glad he worried about Naruto. The guy was up in no time and was allowed to leave in a couple of days, as expected from a jinchuriki. She suddenly saw Sasuke try to get up.

"What are you doing? You can't get up. I haven't administered your treatment yet!" panicked the young woman, trying to keep him from getting up.

"I'm leaving," curtly replied the guy. However, he only got as far as a half-sit up, suddenly convulsing in pain for a split second before falling back down on the bed.

"Figures," replied Sakura sternly. "This was no ordinary fight. Such monstrous ninjutsu is not meant to be used on a human body. It blew off your arm, and it also messed with your chakra network. If you do any unnecessary movement, you might paralyze your whole body."

"Fine," gave in Sasuke, putting in a lot of effort to turn on the side facing away from her. Sakura then promptly left the room. The door was open, so he could her hear talking to medical ninja, and patients, throwing around words and knowledge he was not accustomed to. It was clear as day who was in-charge. She was her own person.

Perhaps due to boredom, or loneliness, he kept searching for her voice in a scurry of meaningless conversations and subtle noises. In less than an hour, she came back. Her hair was tied back, and her face was decorated with a pair of delicate glasses. Since when did she?

"Now, I'll need you to lay still, and keep your left arm extended." began Sakura. He did as she requested. She was very close to his face. It was a completely different person, while still being Sakura. She was now in a very serious mode, just like when she administered emergency aid back at the Valley of the End. It was very awkward, and he felt self-conscious about Sakura seeing his ugly stump. He turned his face again, so she couldn't see his usually pale face turn pinker.

The procedure was taking some time. Sakura first cleaned his arm, and made marks, on all the applicable chakra points up to his neck, and his whole shoulder - both the back and front sides. Then she proceeded to close each point with her chakra. She learned the approximate location of each point as she was studying medical ninjutsu, but almost perfected her knowledge ever since she got closer with Hinata. Most medical ninja would need references, even during important surgeries, due to each person's individual body proportions, but Sakura learned to manipulate her Chakra, to seek each one out, one by one. Each spot that would block Sakura's chakra the strongest, would be given a mark. This process was very gentle. Sasuke was surprised that such cold hands could administer such warm chakra. As soon as a sufficient number of points was blocked, Sasuke could not feel any energy in his left side. She began to envelop her hands in green chakra, and invade his arm. It did not look like there was a lot of movement involved, but in reality, Sakura was conducting very complex, cell restoration ninjutsu. After some time, she began tampering with the points again. Feeling a series of sudden shocks, he realized that the procedure was almost over. His body felt more put together, and definitely less painful. However, he couldn't control his movement quite well yet.

"We're done for today, but I will need to complete several more tests and follow-up treatments. You should be ready to leave in less than a week. Also-" began explaining Sakura, before being interrupted by a medic, asking for assistance in some sort of procedure. She left, leaving Sasuke all alone in a clean hospital room. He couldn't help but drift into sleep, without noticing a lonely vase with fresh flowers on a drawer by his bed.

* * *

"So, what'cha gonna do now?" asked a happy voice. Naruto Uzumaki and he were standing outside, behind a well-lit ramen shop, next to his best friend. Sasuke remained quiet. Because.. He didn't know the answer himself. 'You are lucky that you know who you are and what you want, Naruto,' thought the dark haired man. The cool autumn air made it a perfect time for hot ramen, which was partly the cause of his friend's giddiness. But mostly, all of them were visited be a heartwarming feeling of content. They were celebrating Sasuke and Naruto getting out of the hospital. The team was finally all back together. Yamato could not stay long, and Kakashi was severely busy with a mission of some sort, but nevertheless, they were back home. Sakura was still eating her bowl while discussing something with Sai. It was a brand new experience for Sasuke. "Finally able to go home, huh? After all these years.."

"Yeah," he replied.

"Wasn't the Uchiha district destroyed when Pain's attacked?" suddenly mentioned Sai.

"Was it?" asked Naruto, turning to him. "Oh, in that case, you can stay over!"

"Is that such a good idea?" asked Sai, with his very infamous, and very punchable, fake smile. "I mean.. When was the last time you cleaned? Is there even enough space for you?"

"What are you trying to say?!" wondered Naruto, a little offended. But it was true, neither he nor Sasuke had the chance to visit their homes yet.

"I'm fine," answered Sasuke, trying to not worry his friends. It was evident to him that he would have to camp out, as bothering someone was out of the question. He was broke and was not yet allowed to go on missions, due to both him and Naruto still being in recovery. This also left out the hotel option.

"You can stay at my place," calmly offered Sakura, to Sai, and Naruto's incredible disbelief. But Sakura was incredibly tired of being modest. "Oh, I just never use it. It would be fine for a couple of days."

"Why would you get your own place and not use it? I don't get it," commented Naruto sitting back down to the right of Sai, to get more ramen. Sakura noticed the digital clock on the counter. She sighed, and got up.

"I'm sorry everyone, but my break is over, I have to go," announced Sakura. She took out a key and an address, written on the other side of the receipt, and without a warning, handed it to Sasuke. "Here you go. I'll stop by to continue your treatment during my break tomorrow."

"Huh?" wondered Sasuke, noticing a silver key, with a floral keychain attached to it in his hand. Sakura was already gone.

"That was weird," replied Naruto, slurping down his third bowl of ramen. Then he started to giggle, poking Sai with his elbow."Oh I get it. Eh? Eh?"

"Stop," said Sai, catching his elbow. He on the other hand barely finished one bowl. "You're getting the wrong idea, Naruto. Sakura spends her nights at the hospital. It was not prepared for such an immense amount of injured shinobi. Her schedule must be packed for months."

"Oh..," noticed Naruto, toning down his teasing. Both Sasuke and he started reminiscing about the war, and the amount of shinobi they overlooked. It was a time where they couldn't focus on anything but the enemy, and even with all the precautions, there were bound to be deaths and sorrow following the event. Naruto pretended not to notice Sasuke slip away into the night.

* * *

"I'm home," replied Sakura. She was standing in the middle of a clean, well-composed livingroom. The young woman noticed Sasuke taking a nap on her couch. 'Not so tough after all, huh' thought Sakura. He was released from the hospital but was under the instructions to get sufficient rest. She knew that if he could overpower such exhaustion, he would; but he couldn't. Sakura noticed that all his belongings were neatly folded and no trace of even a subtle mess could be found. She left some nutritious food on the table, for when he wakes up again. Somehow, she manages to complete the treatment without him even waking up. It was extremely awkward for her, and as much as she wanted to spend some time with Sasuke, she was glad he was asleep. They've Never been so close up in private. This made her restless. Once, finished, she quickly left, as her break was almost over.

Sasuke woke up to the sound of a closing door. His left shoulder felt much lighter. He got up again and noticed some food on the table. A sudden feeling of gloom overcame him. It was about five in the afternoon. He sat at the kitchen table and started eating some rice, trying to process this day. Instead of resting, like he promised to everyone, he spent the day to find Kakashi, and walk around the village, trying to figure everything out. He did not find his former sensei, but he noticed the extreme animosity coming from the villagers. He was met with stares and dirty looks. Some ninja even came up to him, trying to engage in a debate, or straight up to spew hate in his face. A couple of genin even attacked him. He was astonished. Sasuke finally began to understand how his actions, even if indirect, have caused pain to the village. He tried to remember how it was back before he left the village. Everyone was either neutral or even happy to meet him. Now he was a dark crow, bringing only pain and irritating everyone. And then there was his team. Naruto, who made it a goal to bring him back from a dark place, and Sakura, who clung to him no matter what life threw at him; no matter how awful he was to her. How can such people exist? 'Someone like me? Could someone like me deserve to be forgiven?' he thought to himself. 'I should turn myself in.'

* * *

"I'll see you soon," said Sasuke, poking Sakura's forehead. "Thank you."


End file.
